1986 vehicle accident changes student's life

Jerri Shields

Jerri Ann Shields doesn't remember the car wreck that eventually led her to become a Missouri State University student.

In 1986 she was a licensed practical nurse working around Lebanon. One winter day, she was driving away from a patient's home after sunset. A tractor-trailer turned into the road. Shields saw it at the last minute, hit her brakes - and that's all she can tell you.

Other people filled in the rest: She had gone under the trailer.

She had a concussion and head injuries. She had breaks all over her legs, knees, ankles and feet.

She tried to go back to nursing off and on but had lingering pain. In 1997, her doctor said she could not work anymore.

"I was on disability for years," said Shields. It was hard for someone who loved nursing.

She started thinking about going to school for social work after dealing with the issue of substance abuse involving a loved one and with the death of a child she knew from church.

"I felt I could do more good doing something else than sitting on my hind end at home."

She started classes at Ozarks Technical Community College in 2009 and earned an associate's degree.

In August 2011 she started at Missouri State and was later accepted into the social work program. Shields, now 47, drives to Springfield classes from Lebanon and is balancing school with family.

Despite her busy schedule, she has earned several distinctions. Shields is a member of Delta Alpha Pi, the MSU honor society for students with disabilities. And she is the first recipient of the Rob R. and Patricia G. Freeman Delta Alpha Pi scholarship. Rob Freeman is an Army special forces veteran and Missouri State alumnus who attended following his service. He was injured by an anti-tank mine.

In establishing his scholarship, he and his wife, Patricia, said they hoped "to plant a small seed of kindness that may someday be returned in kind."

Shields hopes to graduate in the fall and is already thinking about what she might do next.

"I might want to get a master's degree. I might want to go right to work. My dream job would be mentoring teens. I am really excited."